1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to surgical staplers, and, more particularly, to surgical staplers having a curved end-effector and to surgical techniques for using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
As known in the art, surgical staplers are often used to deploy staples into soft tissue to reduce or eliminate bleeding from the soft tissue, especially as the tissue is being transected, for example. Surgical staplers, such as an endocutter, for example, often comprise an end-effector which is configured to secure the soft tissue between first and second jaw members. The first jaw member often includes a staple cartridge which is configured to removably store staples therein and the second jaw member often includes an anvil. In use, the staples are typically deployed from the staple cartridge by a driver which traverses a channel in the staple cartridge. The driver causes the staples to be deformed against the anvil and secure layers of the soft tissue together. Often, as known in the art, the staples are deployed in several staple lines, or rows, in order to more reliably secure the layers of tissue together. The end-effector may also include a cutting member, such as a knife, for example, which is advanced between two rows of the staples to resect the soft tissue after the layers of the soft tissue have been stapled together.
The end-effectors of previous endocutters are often configured to deploy staples in straight lines. During many surgical techniques, such as the resection of stomach tissue, for example, such a linear deployment is often preferred. During these techniques, the end-effector is typically inserted through a cannula to access the surgical site and, as a result, it is often desirable for the end-effector to have a linear configuration that can be aligned with an axis of the cannula before the end-effector is inserted therethrough. However, in some circumstances, end-effectors having such a linear configuration are somewhat difficult to use. More particularly, for example, when the end-effector must be placed adjacent to or against a cavity wall, such as the thoracic cavity wall, for example, it is often difficult for the surgeon to position a jaw of the end effector behind delicate or fragile tissue which is proximal to and/or attached to the cavity wall. Furthermore, even if the surgeon is successful in positioning a jaw behind the tissue, owing to the linear configuration of the end-effector, the surgeon may not be able to see the distal end of the end-effector.
In some circumstances, endocutters having a curved end-effector have been used for accessing, stapling and transecting tissue. These end-effectors typically include curved anvils and staple cartridges which co-operate to deploy the staples in curved rows. To deploy the staples in this manner, the staple driver and the cutting member can be moved through a curved path by a flexible drive member. However, owing to the amount of force that is typically transmitted through the flexible drive member, the drive member may buckle or otherwise deform in an unsuitable manner. Furthermore, previous curved end-effectors are configured such that the distal ends of the jaw members are the last portions of the jaw members to contact the soft tissue. As a result, tissue may escape from between the jaw members before the jaw members are completely closed. What is needed is an improvement over the foregoing.